A Health, Social Media and Technology blog by Mark Scrimshire (@ekivemark), Chief Instigator of HealthCa.mp - Empowering Health Care Engagement.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The PHR - will WebMDs walled garden win? I have my doubts
I read WebMD's whitepaper on the "The Integrated Personal Health Record and the Involved Consumer" They seem to be recognizing the value of the engaged consumer. However it still seems like they are pushing their PHR as a walled garden. Ultimately I think the emerging ecosystem around the Untethered PHR - characterized by Microsoft HealthVault, Google Health and Dossia will win out. A walled garden is a nice concept but the open market provides richness and diversity that is difficult to compete against. This will be the challenge Apple faces in retaining iPhone Supremacy. It is the lesson AOL learned. WebMD may have a head start in terms of consumer trust and adoption but the vibrancy of the ecosystem we are seeing in the Health 2.0 space will win out.
